The scene was tranquil. A woman sipped coffee near the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Massachusetts. Sunshine bathed upon the Mayflower, a replica ship berthed there.
Three centuries before, the mood on the original Mayflower was anything but tranquil. Tension simmered between two groups of passengers.
Some were Puritan religion separatists. The rest were secular tradesman, or 'strangers,' as the separatists called them. Everyone was traveling from England to colonial lands near the Hudson River in America. The year was 1620.
They blew off course to present day Massachusetts. Winter loomed. The decision was made to build a colony from scratch.
Controversy flared before they chose a site. The separatists wanted the colony administered by their rules. The secularists refused to agree.
What to do?
They drew up the Mayflower Compact. It was a compromise agreement. Both sides understood that without unity, their prospects of survival were dim.
A reconnaissance team set out. It landed near the spot where this photo was taken. Men bearing tools disembarked from the Mayflower. Communal homes were built.
Harsh weather took a toll. So did scurvy. Almost half of them died. The rest hung on. During spring, Indians taught them how to plant corn. Imagine the joy when shoots of corn appeared in the soil.
Those religious zealots and secularists, together described as Pilgrims, held a harvest festival. Indians participated.
Sowing seeds of compromise, then sowing seeds of corn, set the stage for our holiday of Thanksgiving.
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